Tag Archives: Texas A&M

The Princeton Review is out with its gay-friendly and gay-unfriendly schools. SMU remained off the gay-unfriendly list for a second year, but the University of Dallas, Texas A&M and Baylor made the list at No. 10, 11 and 12, respectively. No Texas schools are on the gay-friendly list. View the full lists below.

UPDATE, 10 p.m.: The Senate has postponed the resolution in support of the GLBT Center, which effectively kills it, according to gay campus activist Camden Breeding. However, the Senate also upheld the veto of the anti-gay bill passed two weeks ago.

The resolution, entitled, “The GLBT Resource Center Support Resolution,” aims to show support for the value of the campus center, as well as support “continued funding for the services that the GLBT Resource Center provides.”

Student Senator Robbie Cimmino said he spearheaded the resolution to show the community that the center is a needed resource that helps students come out, as well as educate them and support them when they come out.

“It isn’t about being gay for us,” Cimmino said. “It’s about being a resource for people who need it.”

He said the anti-gay bill drew 400 students to the Senate meeting and made LGBT students feel targeted. The student body president later vetoed the bill, which would have allowed students to opt out of funding the center with their activity fees if they had religious objections.

“There was a lot of tension and a lot of people felt discriminated against,” he said, adding that many senators who supported the bill for religious reasons didn’t realize the impact it would have on students.

Cimmino said many senators who backed the anti-gay bill will likely back the resolution after seeing the campus response.

“I think people will be genuinely supportive,” he said.

Camden Breeding, former president of the GLBT Aggies, said he also thinks the resolution will gain support when senators vote on it tonight.

Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin emailed a statement to students, faculty and staff on Friday addressing controversy this week over an anti-gay Student Senate bill. However, gay campus activist Camden Breeding, former president of the GLBT Aggies, notes that Loftin’s statement fails to include any specific mention of the LGBT community. Breeding also says Loftin’s statement was released because an LGBT Aggie received a death threat. Breeding’s Facebook post, shared with his permission, is followed after the jump by Loftin’s full statement.

After three hours of emotional debate, the Texas A&M Student Senate voted 35-28 Wednesday night to approve an anti-gay measure that would allow students to opt out of funding the campus GLBT Resource Center if they have religious objections.

Less than 24 hours before the vote, the name of the bill was changed from the “GLBT Funding Opt Out Bill” to the “The Religious Funding Exemption Bill,” and specific references to the GLBT Resource Center were removed. However, opponents of the bill who packed a Student Senate meeting before the vote Wednesday said the name change did not alter the bill’s discriminatory, anti-gay intent.

With the crowd spilling into the hallways, an overflow viewing room was set up, and the Senate meeting had to be stopped several times so administrators could clear fire exits, according to a report in The Eagle of Bryan-College Station. Emotions ran high, with senators cursing and the woman assigned to tally their votes bursting into tears.

A&M Student Body President John Claybrook says he has not decided whether to veto the measure. The closer-than-expected margin of passage means the Senate may not have the votes to override a veto by Claybrook.

Also last night, the University of Houston Student Government Association unanimously passed a resolution opposing a state budget amendment designed to cut funding for LGBT resource centers on college campuses, according to Daniel Williams of Equality Texas. The anti-gay budget amendment from Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, could be voted on by the House later today.

It’s often said that young people overwhelmingly support LGBT equality, but that doesn’t always hold true in Texas, where anti-gay hate is rearing its head on college campuses again this year.

We told you yesterday about some horrific fliers attacking a student body president candidate at the University of Houston-Downtown for his sexual orientation and HIV status.

Meanwhile, just up the road in College Station, a bill was introduced in the Texas A&M Student Senate this week that would allow students to opt out of funding the GLBT Resource Center with their activity fees if they have religious objections.

It’s not the first time the TAMU Student Senate, known for its extreme conservatism, has targeted the school’s GLBT Resource Center.

Two years ago, the A&M Student Senate passed a bill supporting a state budget amendment by Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, that would have required schools with LGBT resource centers to spend an equal amount on centers for “family and traditional values.” The student body president vetoed the bill, and a version of Christian’s amendment was ultimately defeated on the floor of the Texas House.

The above image is from Saturday’s broadcast of ESPN’s College GameDay, which was in College Station for Texas A&M’s Southeastern Conference football debut against Florida. Full disclosure: I’m a Florida alum and a Gator fan, but even from an objective standpoint, could Aggie fans possibly do anything more to live up to stereotypes about conservative, redneck, homophobic, misogynistic Texas? I guess it’s hard when your most famous yell leader is Gov. Rick Perry, who has himself declared political war on gays and women, but aren’t young people supposed to be different on LGBT issues? Also, who won that game again? Oh yeah, my “Gay-tors”!!!

Texas A&M University President Dr. R. Bowen Loftin issued a memo January 20th, re-affirming the University’s commitment to non-discrimination in employment. Historically this memo is issued annually and has in recent years included sexual orientation among a list of attributes that have been the historical basis of discrimination and which the university vows not to use to discriminate in employment. This year’s memo is a little special, however. For the first time in the school’s 141 year history, Texas A&M has committed to employment nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. From the memo:

“… the university has developed an Affirmative Action Program that documents the policies, practices and procedures to support equal treatment for all applicants and employees and assure, in good faith, equal access and affirmative action for women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans at all levels of its workforce. It is our policy to not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, sex, color, national orgin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Furthermore, we will maintain a work environment free from discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”

The memo applies only to the employment practices of A&M’s main campus in College Station, not to students or employees at any of the other A&M system campuses. Last month the Texas A&M Student Senate passed a resolution encouraging the university system to adopt a system-wide non-discrimination policy for students, staff and faculty that included sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Student Senator Andrew Jancaric, the driving force behind that resolution, greeted the news of Loftin’s memo excitedly. “President Loftin has shown a great deal of leadership, particurally given the proximidy of this realease to the legislation passed by the Student Senate. Because of that leadership it will make changing that policy at the student level much more easy,” said Jancaric, adding “It’s a really important statement coming from the president of our university, which I believe will have great weight with the system’s board of regents.”

The Texas A&M Student Senate recently passed a resolution supporting the addition of gender identity and expression to the attributes currently covered by that university system’s nondiscrimination policy. The policy already includes sexual orientation.

The action by the Student Senate stands in stark contrast to a resolution passed by the same body last year supporting legislation in the Texas House to defund campus LGBT resource centers, that resolution was later vetoed by the student body president. The nondiscrimination resolution’s author, Andrew Jancaric, says it’s no coincidence that the student senate has done such an about face. “Certain members who supported resolution [to defund LGBT resource centers] are gone,” says Jancaric. “I wasn’t involved in student government until I saw what my representatives, the people who were supposed to be representing me, were trying to do.” He adds that many students were spurred to action by what they saw as a misrepresentation of the Aggie spirit. “We saw what they were doing and thought ‘this is a problem that we have, we need to get involved to change the dialogue.'” According to Jancaric over 90% of the student senators supported his nondiscrimination resolution.

Jancaric is working with allies in the Faculty Senate and Graduate Student Council to pass similar resolutions. He says the next step will be to begin a lobbying campaign with the A&M system Board of Regents and Chancellor, who oversee the statewide A&M university system and its 100,000 students.

Jancaric acknowledges that A&M is not the most LGBT friendly school (last year the Princeton Review ranked it the least friendly public university in the nation for GLBT students). “It’s an institution that’s steeped in it’s traditions as an all male military school. There’s a culture of masculinity. That has been an obstacle towards equality.” At the same time he feels that fighting for LGBT equality at A&M is vital. “I believe that equality needs to happen everywhere,” says Jancaric. “If we leave instiutions like A&M alone in the corner to fester we won’t achieve it.”

Rep. Wayne Christian

After seven hours of debate the House passed Senate Bill 1811 just after 1 a.m. today. SB 1811 is part of a series of “fiscal matters” bills that compliment the state budget. On Friday, Instant Tea reported that Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, pre-filed two amendments to the bill designed to defund LGBT resource centers from Texas universities and prevent schools from housing them on campus. (Read the full text of Christian’s proposed amendments to SB 1811 by going here and here.)

Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, sponsored SB 1811 in the House. Before bringing the bill to the floor Pitts met with both the Republican and Democratic caucuses and explained that he would only support amendments that he deemed to be “perfecting” amendments. The sponsor of a bill can “accept” amendments, which usually means that they pass without a vote. The sponsor cannot block amendments, but other members often vote against amendments a sponsor opposes out of respect.

Pitts stuck by his guns, opposing all but 11 “perfecting” amendments. Although the House did pass some mostly Republican-sponsored amendments over his objections, for the most part they respected his opposition. Toward the end of the evening Pitts’ resolve began to fade and several amendments were allowed with the assumption that they would be removed later in the process.

While the House was considering SB 1811 the Senate passed Senate Bill 1581, another of the “fiscal matters” bills — this one dealing exclusively with education. Considering the late hour several of the members, including Christian, removed their proposed amendments to SB 1811 that dealt with education, assuming that the amendments could be offered to SB 1581, which is scheduled to be brought up in the House this weekend.

In addition to SB 1581, there are four additional fiscal matters bills still to be considered by the House: SB 7, SB 8, SB 22 and SB 23; any of which could be a vehicle for Christian’s amendments.

Students for Inclusive Resources is encouraging Texans to call their state representatives and ask them to oppose any attempt to defund or ban state universities’ LGBT resource centers. To look up contact info for your representative, go here.